European Dependencies and Territories Quiz

Answer: Finland

Åland is a small archipelago located off the south-west coast of Finland in the Gulf of Bothnia. An Autonomous Region of Finland, its flag consists of a gold Nordic Cross, with a red cross overlaid on it, on a blue field. The flag originated from a movement from the largely native Swedish population of the islands to seek union with Sweden.

In response, the Finnish government enacted laws in 1952 to grant Åland autonomy, which included the design of its own flag. Initially, a design resembling the Swedish flag, with a blue cross overlaid on the gold, was suggested, but rejected by the President of Finland.

Instead, a red cross was chosen instead - this is intended to represent Finland, with the blue field and gold cross to indicate the islanders' Swedish heritage.

Answer: Denmark

The Faroe Islands is an archipelago in the North Atlantic, which forms an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Its flag features a blue Nordic Cross, overlaid by a red one, on a white field. The flag was originally designed in 1919 by Jens Oliver Lisberg, a Faroese law student studying in Copenhagen.

However, it did not gain official status until April 1940, when the British government of occupation in the Faroes ordered that all Faroese ships begin flying a different flag from the flag of German-occupied Denmark.

In March 1948, Denmark passed the Home Rule Act, which granted full internal autonomy, and the flag was recognised by Denmark as the national flag of the Faroe Islands.

Answer: Denmark

Greenland is a large island located off the eastern coast of North America, and forms an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The Greenlandic flag consists of a banner of white over red, with a disc, offset to the left, which is red over white.

The initial proposal for a local flag for Greenland came in 1973, when a local newspaper ran a poll of eleven different designs to determine the most popular. While nothing came of this, five years later, in 1978, Greenland was granted home rule, and the desire for a national flag became more apparent.

The government received more than 550 proposals, but the deciding committee could not reach a consensus. Following further submissions, the committee eventually chose a design by Thue Christiansen, the former Minister of Culture and Education.

The white band is intended to symbolise Greenland's glaciers and ice caps, while the red symbolises the ocean. The red half of the circle is the setting sun, and the white half the icebergs and pack ice surrounding the island. Officially adopted in May 1989, Greenland's is the only flag of a Nordic country not to feature a Nordic Cross.

Answer: Aruba

Aruba is a Caribbean island, part of the chain known as the Leeward Antilles that sits off the northern coast of South America, and forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Aruba's flag, which was originally adopted in March 1976, consists of a blue field, representing the oceans surrounding the island, with two narrow yellow stripes towards the bottom, representing Aruba's economy, both past and present, and its autonomy within the Netherlands, while the red star symbolises the points of the compass, and the fact that Aruba's population originates from all over the world.

The flag was part of the Aruban separatist movement led by Betico Croes, who sought full autonomy and eventual independence for Aruba. This started in January 1986, when Aruba officially seceded from the Netherlands Antilles and became a separate constituent part of the Netherlands.

Answer: Curaçao

Curaçao is a Caribbean island, part of the Leeward Antilles chain, and forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island adopted its own flag in 1984, while it was a part of the Netherlands Antilles, a former constituent of the Kingdom.

The island government had initially received approval for its own flag in 1979, and ran a competition for a design, with the decision taken in November 1982. The flag consists of a blue field, with a single yellow stripe located 2/3 of the way down from the top, and two 5-pointed stars in the canton.

The blue represents the sky (above the stripe) and the sea (below), with the stripe representing the sun. The stars represent the two islands that make up the country (Curaçao and Klein Curaçao), with the five points representing the five continents from which the island's residents descend.

Answer: Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is formed from the southern half of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, located approximately 300km east of Puerto Rico. Sint Maarten adopted its own flag in June 1985, while it was still part of the Netherlands Antilles.

The flag consists of a horizontal bicolour of red over blue, with the red symbolising solidarity and courage, and the blue symbolising peace. A white chevron features next to the hoist, symbolising purity and faith.

The red, white and blue are also the colours of the Dutch flag. On the chevron is placed Sint Maarten's coat of arms.

Answer: French Polynesia

French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of France, formed from a total of five island groups in the South Pacific. The territory has the status of an "Overseas Country", which provides it with a high level of internal autonomy. French Polynesia adopted its flag in November 1984, making it the only French overseas territory to have an official flag.

The flag consists of two red horizontal bands either side of a larger white band; red and white are traditional colours in Polynesia. In the centre of the flag is the coat of arms of French Polynesia, which consists of a blue and white wave pattern below a gold and white ray pattern representing the sea and the sun, with a traditional Polynesian canoe.

The canoe has five stars illustrating its crew, which symbolise the five island groups that make up French Polynesia.

Answer: New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special overseas collectivity of France, consisting of an archipelago in the South Pacific. Although the French national flag is the only officially sanctioned flag for the territory, in 2008, as part of the provisions of the Nouméa Accord, which granted New Caledonia increased internal autonomy, the local congress debated whether to introduce its own local flag.

At the time, a local flag in widespread use was the flag of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), a coalition of political groups in favour of independence.

In July 2010, the Congress of New Caledonia voted to approve the FLNKS flag as the unofficial flag of New Calendonia, with it being flown alongside the French flag for the first time on 17 July 2010.

The flag is a horizontal tricolour of blue, red and green, with a yellow disc sited towards the hoist; inside the disc is a black vertical device. The blue symbolises both the sky and the sea surrounding New Caledonia; the red is the blood of the Kanak people in their struggle for independence and unity, while the green is the land.

The disc represents the sun, while the black device within it is a "flèche faîtière", a kind of finial adornment of Kanak houses.

Answer: Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna is a French overseas collectivity largely consisting of three main islands in the South Pacific. As with all but one of France's overseas territories, its only official flag is that of France itself. However, in 1985, an unofficial local flag was adopted, which consisted of a red field, with the French flag located in the canton, and a red saltire on a white square located on the red field, slightly off-centre.

This flag is based on the royal standard of Uvea, which is the name of one of the local chiefdoms that make up the territory, which has featured both the French national flag and a white cross-pattée in its history.

Answer: Svalbard

Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, located midway between the north coast of Norway and the North Pole. Although it forms part of the Kingdom of Norway, Svalbard is an unincorporated territory that is not part of another Norwegian county.

Instead, it is administered by a governor appointed by the Norwegian Government. Because it is an unincorporated territory, Svalbard does not have its own flag, instead being represented by the Norwegian national flag. However, Svalbard does have an unofficial flag - as with most Nordic territories, this is a Nordic cross.

This is a white cross, overlaid with a red one (similar to that of Iceland), on a black field. Unlike other Nordic nations, this flag also has an additional device, with a Polar Bear located in the canton.